"No, we’re NOT going to McDonald’s," the mother says, disappointing her kids while waiting behind us at the traffic signal. We were not going to McDonald’s either, though after a two-hour delay inside a United Airlines Airbus, due to fog at Mexico Airport, and a 50-minute wait at immigration at San Francisco International (eight persons in the queue ahead of us), the speed at which McDonald’s can serve up some hot food certainly had some appeal.
Our first meal on American soil in three years was definitely going to be burgers, but we had Johnny Rockets in mind. We first ate at Johnny Rockets in Tokyo, where the outlet in Roppongi served arguably the best burgers in town – the competition was limited until the late 1990s – at slightly over $10 a go, excluding fries or drinks. My first earthquake experience in Japan was actually while seated in Johnny Rockets, and my companion that night actually thought at first that it was special effect seats!
A few years ago, we happened upon Johnny Rockets at Fisherman’s Wharf and were happy to dine there, rather than at overly touristy and expensive nearby Pier 39. This time, we sought it out on purpose and were happy to find it as expected. It was still furnished in 1960s diner style, I guess – I was not around for much of the sixties – with red, fake leather seats and a lot of black-and-white details. Apart from the counter seats, most tables are for couples, although a few have space for four, which is fortunate, as the clan has expanded to that size since our previous visits. Tables are decorated with parts of original jukeboxes, and the music is sixties, although a few songs might have been from the seventies, too.
Service is fast and friendly, with the drinks – a Diet Coke and two chocolate milkshakes – on our table within minutes and a starter of onion rings and fries following soon. The burgers and chicken for the toddler took a while to arrive, but the taste was worth the wait. I shared a delicious apple with ice cream with the toddler. The bill came to $33.
A few days later, we decided to return for breakfast and happened to sit at the same table. This time round, the music was impossibly loud at times, but the food was still great. The service was good, and we got exactly what we wanted once my wife explained in Spanish the desired deviations from the standard menu. Most items were below $5, with perfect portion size, without the exaggerated excess we experienced previous mornings at other diners. The coffee, however, was horribly weak, and for once, I actually declined the offered free refill. The freshly squeezed orange juice was clearly the better option.